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Check Out the Greatest Snowflake Photos Ever Taken With Vividly High Resolution

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Nathan Myhrvold / Modernist Cuisine Gallery, LLC

Here: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/nathan-myhrvold-captures-highest-resolution-pictures-of-snowflakes/
 
Live nativity scene goes wrong as church's calves escape and have a beach day
by Jessica Swietoniowski
··Dec 16, 2022 · NottheBee.com
A live nativity scene... what can go wrong?

Well, last week, these two calves in North Carolina got tired of playing their roles in one church's nativity scene, so they fled!


After fleeing the scene at Seaside Chapel in the community of Carolina Beach, the pair escaped to a nearby state park.

Authorities were alerted, and the chase was on!

The Carolina Beach Police Department posted on Facebook:

When you're a police officer in a small island community, you may get some unusual calls. Such was the case yesterday as officers from the CBPD were dispatched to assist the CB State Park Rangers with rounding up some loose cows!


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The pastor's wife, Dana Vess, only realized the calves were missing when police knocked on their door and told them the actors were on the run – she had no idea how they could have escaped.

The actors turned fugitives were on the run for almost 16 hours before they were found and brought back safely.

Of course, there is some outrage about the incident...

An activist's letter was sent to the pastor, Jerry Vess, which said:


Please, to prevent future tragedies, will you stop using live animals in your events? Your sets and church members provide a perfectly lovely attraction on their own. Christian teachings are all about kindness — yet animals used in live Nativity scenes aren't treated with compassion. They're often stressed from transport and from being in a strange environment … they may be chained or confined to small holding pens.

In response, Dana Vess told Port City Daily that the animals are all well cared for. They are kept in roomy pens, not chained, and are constantly fed well with their usual food. Dana explained that the animals are provided by local farmers who bring them to the church on two weekends for the Nativity scene and that they go back home to their farms between "performances."

The farmers deliver them and pick them up, check the pens and make sure they're secure — it's their animals, so they want to ensure everything's good.

For the subsequent performances, the pastor and his wife decided to set up the Nativity scene with only donkeys and sheep.


The two calves had enough limelight for one season.


Here: https://notthebee.com/article/animals-on-the-loose-live-nativity-scene-gone-wrong
 
Diplomacy, Stratego… Artificial intelligence now dominates these very complex games

12/17/2022

Whether it's advancing his pawns without knowing his opponent's game or pretending to be a human player, the computer repels

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Defeat of world chess champion Garry Kasparov against Deep Blue in 1997, mastery of go in 2015 and poker in 2019… In the space of a few years, artificial intelligence (AI) has shown that it can surpass top competitors in wildly popular board games.

Alas, the humiliation was not over!

More recently, programs have excelled in even more complex games.

If these feats are more confidential, they are no less impressive for specialists.

Read alsoChatGPT: 5 minutes to understand this artificial intelligence that analyzes and writes (almost) like us

At the beginning of December, the journal Science told how an AI called DeepNash excelled at Stratego until reaching the top of the rankings.

In this game, two players each position 40 pieces on a board, without the opponent being able to see the nature of these pawns.

The goal is to move pieces in turn to eliminate those of the opponent and seize a flag.

Fine strategist

For two weeks in April, DeepNash competed against human players on the online gaming platform Gravon.

After 50 matches, the virtual competitor has achieved the unthinkable, ranking third among all the players who have played on the site since 2002!

Not content with thus reaching an "expert" level among humans, the AI also fined all the robots that paraded on Gravon, including the three-time winner of a world championship between computers.

However, the number of possible courses of the game is dizzying: it is equivalent to 10 power 535, or a 1 followed by 535 zeros!

By way of comparison, the number of potential games in the game of go is “only” 10 to the power of 360. Like poker, Stratego is a game with imperfect information: the hand (for the first) or the positions pieces (for the second) are concealed from the adversary, who therefore advances in the fog.

But if there are only one million possible hidden positions in the famous card game, there are 10 to the power of 66 in Stratego!

To win 84% of the games, DeepNash (developed by DeepMind, owned by Google and famous for having raged in the game of go) proved to be a fine strategist.

As crazy as it may seem, the virtual competitor decided for himself whether or not to take such a piece from the opponent at the risk of revealing the nature of one of his own.

He also showed himself capable of bluffing.

Advance masked

At the end of November, already, it was Meta AI, a laboratory of Facebook's parent company, which struck a blow by announcing that it had developed "the first AI agent to achieve human-level performance in Diplomacy".

In this game, it is no longer two but up to seven players who compete.

Each represents a nation seeking to take control of supply centers on the eve of the First World War.

One of the difficulties is that you have to ally with other players, according to their strengths and weaknesses, and communicate in private.

Subtle maneuvers that Cicero, Meta's AI, performed brilliantly, by aping in the chat module… human players!

“If a computer, which we know is strong by nature strategically, is the only AI at the table, I think the other players, the humans, will rather play against it.

So the AI has every interest in pretending to be a human to blend in with all the players, ”explains Gabriel Lecointre, member of the French-speaking Association of Diplomacy Players (AFJD).

In 40 online games, Cicero "scored more than double the average score of human players and ranked among the top 10% of participants who played more than one game," according to the results of the experiment. also published in Science.

"When AlphaGo beat the best go players in the world, a CNRS researcher said that the next steps would be poker, bridge and Diplomacy", recalls Gabriel Lecointre.

"But no one in the Diplomacy community thought it would happen so quickly..."

Here: https://newsrnd.com/tech/2022-12-17-diplomacy--stratego…-artificial-intelligence-now-dominates-these-very-complex-games.B176-pSjdi.html
 
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Brian Grayek, cybersecurity expert: "Companies play Russian roulette every day betting that they will not be attacked"

12/16/2022, 12:13:02 PM


The REDW information director considers it essential to have a backup against possible attacks Todd Davis, the CEO of LifeLock, had his identity stolen at least 13 times after he posted his Social Security number on several billboards in 2010. His goal was to show how secure his company was, that it promised precisely to protect identity theft users. This is the example that Brian Grayek, a cybersecurity expert with more than 40 years of experience, uses to explain why he never provides his

Todd Davis, the CEO of LifeLock, had his identity stolen at least 13 times after he posted his Social Security number on several billboards in 2010. His goal was to show how secure his company was, that it promised precisely to protect identity theft users.

This is the example that Brian Grayek, a cybersecurity expert with more than 40 years of experience, uses to explain why he never provides his age and place of birth —not even in interviews.

“With just four pieces of information about me, they can impersonate me,” says Grayek, who is director of information and cybersecurity for the company REDW and has been part of security incident investigation teams that have involved the FBI and the Secret Service. from United States.

It refers to his name, date and place of birth and his place of residence.

Immediately afterwards, he takes his wallet out of his pocket and takes his credit card: “If someone steals it from me, I could only use it a couple of times because I would call my bank to cancel it.

But I can't change my driver's license or my social security number."

With this and other personal information, "they can impersonate me and apply for a credit card or bank loan."

The number of cyberattacks does not stop growing, as Grayek points out in an interview conducted at the CyberFit Summit 2022, an event organized in Miami to which EL PAÍS was invited by the cybersecurity company Acronis.

“How many doors do you see here?” he asks as he points to a hallway with about 20 doors.

“Imagine that some go to Spain and others to the United States, Brazil or France.

Hackers don't care about that, it doesn't matter where you are because what they are looking for is just an open door”, he comments.

With the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of teleworking, "there are more doors open than ever": "I don't know if people are using technology more, if we are becoming more blind to how things can happen or if they are getting more advanced ways of getting our information.”

A ransomware attack every 11 seconds

Ransomware is the number one threat organizations face, according to cybersecurity company Acronis.

It is a malicious computer program that blocks access to files hosted on a server until a ransom payment is made.

Cybercriminals use this type of attack to extort money from companies, governments, and organizations.

“It's the worst problem we have today,” says Grayek, who has also spoken at many security events around the world, including at the White House.

An attack of this type occurs every 11 seconds, as indicated by Acronis.

In May 2021, one of the largest oil pipelines in the United States suspended operations after suffering one.

In Spain, victims have been the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), the Moisès Brogg Hospital in Barcelona, or the Navarre Municipal Information Technology Association, a public company that manages the online services of 179 entities in the Foral Community.

In any of these cases is it advisable to pay cyber attackers?

“It's complicated,” Grayek replies.

The expert maintains that it depends on where you are and if you have a backup copy of the files.


In the United States, "if I pay hackers and they are connected to a terrorist organization, my company can be sued and thrown in jail."

The risks of paying a ransom

“I have worked with the FBI on several occasions and they always say that it is best to consult them before doing anything, since they have a list of hackers and they know which ones can be trusted,” he says.

When companies decide to pay ransom for files, sometimes their plans don't go as planned.

Nearly 40% of victims who pay a ransom never get their data back, and 73% are hit again later, according to Acronis.

This type of situation could be avoided if you have a backup.

“Businesses know the number one way they get hurt is ransomware, but how many are backing up their stuff correctly?

Very few”, says the expert.


He likens it to “playing Russian roulette betting you won't get hurt”: “Would you point a gun at your head without knowing if there's a bullet in it?

That's what companies are doing every day."

While ransomware is the biggest threat to businesses, there are other attacks that could have devastating consequences.

“What do all our mobile phones have in common with computers?

Lithium batteries, which if they get too hot, can explode,” says Grayek.

In fact, he claims to have witnessed demonstrations that it is possible to do it through a cyber attack, so "it's going to happen sooner or later."

“If they manage to set a computer on fire at night, when no one is working, they could burn down an entire building.

In other words, they are not only going to hack into the computer and get the information, but they can blow up the company later, ”he concludes.

Here: https://newsrnd.com/tech/2022-12-16-brian-grayek--cybersecurity-expert--"companies-play-russian-roulette-every-day-betting-that-they-will-not-be-attacked".SJmITGRFui.html
 
Leukemia, new treatment works. Effectiveness also proven by AI

12/14/2022

A new 'combo' therapy has proven effective against acute myeloid leukemia and the positive effects of the treatment have been highlighted by clinical trials but also by a virtual trial conducted through artificial intelligence, presented for the first time at the Congress of the American Society of hematology (Ash).


The two studies - presented with the 'Best of Ash' mention - were conceived by the Romagna Institute for the treatment of tumors Nino Amadori of Meldola, and carried out in 30 centers of the 'Fondazione Gimema' network for the promotion of research on haematological diseases'.


"Our study - explains the scientific director of the Amadori Institute, Giovanni Martinelli to ANSA - demonstrated the effectiveness of the new Vflai program, which provides for chemotherapy associated with the new drug venetoclax, in young patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia and at a higher risk of recurrence, with an unfavorable profile.


In fact, Vflai led to a complete remission of the disease in 89% of cases, a complete remission figure never obtained in this type of population.

The study was conducted on 117 patients and at ASH we are presenting the results on the first 60 patients". The Institute also carried out a second analysis through a virtual trial called the Propensity score: "We considered a historical series of patients with acute leukemia compared to the treatment with Vflai and it has been seen that this approach is extremely more favorable than the conventional chemotherapy in use". The virtual trial approach, underlines Martinelli, "is very innovative because many patients are spared a clinical trial in which they could occur even in the least effective trial arm.

AND'

one of the first times that a virtual trial has been presented: the idea is to create an experiment with artificial intelligence that has the same characteristics and the same effectiveness as a real trial". In Italy there are around 6,000 cases of acute myeloid leukemia, of which half are subjects between 18 and 65 years of age. The majority of these patients then undergo a consolidation bone marrow transplant. "It is therefore important to arrive at the transplant without residual disease: our data indicate that this is an innovative therapy.

The patient is put in a healing condition which - concludes Martinelli - can then be consolidated by the transplant".

Here: https://newsrnd.com/life/2022-12-14...ffectiveness-also-proven-by-ai.HJPFt-vdo.html
 
How Unplugging From the News and Social Media

...The answers I was looking for were not to be found online.

...I was longing for the simplicity of connection to another human and to nature.

...I moved into a community of 18 people and I turned off most of my channels.

Here: https://medium.com/an-idea/how-unpl...ped-me-reconnect-with-my-purpose-96e81869f011
Yeah, I turn off everything at night accept for my VCR and DVD player now. Technically, we're supposed to have everything off by 10PM here, but they don't enforce it unless we abuse the privilege.

Do you unplug?
 
@xperceniol write on another (msfn.org) website:
"Hope we attract new people on the forums. I don't know what to do?!
default_welcome.gif
default_blushing.gif
default_woot.gif
"

- for "msfn.org", if we search, we have the top results by google search and bing, no problem. But there is a problem to find the search results of "xpforums.com" - google has the results, but bing NONE... so other search engines that use bing search - not either... yes if search for "www.xpforums.com", bing wakes up...
So we should tell bing to include our search results in its engine... but I don't know anyone at bing.:rolleyes:
 
Do you unplug?

- my PC - of course, each time if I leave, and before going to sleep (for the night).
But my post spoke about "How Unplugging From the News and Social Media" - so NOT this same...hahao_O
Stop reading News and follow Social Media too - but NOT my posts please! Read them and responds, please...
 
Watch footage of a pilot ejecting from an F-35 as it spins out of control during an attempted vertical landing

NTB Staff
··Dec 18, 2022 · NottheBee.com
Here's something you don't see every day — thank goodness [language warning]:

https://twitter.com/cbs11doug/status/1603466654704406530

A pilot ejected from a Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II fighter jet during a failed landing at the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth Thursday morning.

"We are aware of the F-35B crash on the shared runway at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Fort Worth and understand that the pilot ejected successfully," Lockheed Martin said in a statement. "Safety is our priority, and we will follow appropriate investigation protocol." ...

At the Pentagon, a spokesman said that the aircraft was being flown at the time of the crash by a U.S. government pilot, although it had not been transferred to the military yet by manufacturer Lockheed Martin.


Bottom line: In any situation it's always best to know when to pull the lever and bail out.

Here: https://notthebee.com/article/watch...-f35-as-it-spins-out-of-control-on-the-runway
 
@xperceniol write on another (msfn.org) website:
"Hope we attract new people on the forums. I don't know what to do?!
default_welcome.gif
default_blushing.gif
default_woot.gif
"

- for "msfn.org", if we search, we have the top results by google search and bing, no problem. But there is a problem to find the search results of "xpforums.com" - google has the results, but bing NONE... so other search engines that use bing search - not either... yes if search for "www.xpforums.com", bing wakes up...
So we should tell bing to include our search results in its engine... but I don't know anyone at bing.:rolleyes:
Same with DDG, no results and *xp8 + *forum* points to others unrelated forums.

Bing / xp / computer / legacy / os /
 
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